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dry needling

Pain clinics, are they the first place you should go to when experiencing myofascial pain. Myofascial pain is found in the fibrous tissue surrounding and separating muscles. It is a chronic condition with a variety of causes. It is often associated with the condition Fibromyalgia. Excess muscle strain and trauma can lead to muscle damage and resulting myofascial pain.

Stress and disease are other contributory factors and can worsen the condition. Symptoms include deep pain, muscle aches, muscle and joint stiffness and painful knots in the muscle. Pain is localized within tender areas or trigger points, which are painful when palpated.

Pain Clinics for a Multi-disciplinary Approach

Visiting pain clinics will give the patient a multi-disciplinary approach towards treating the pain. The medical practitioner will, after ruling out other causes by carrying out tests, confirm diagnosis by palpating trigger points, which react painfully to pressure.

Once confirmed, a pain management program can be created along with other team members to treat and relieve the condition. A follow up program of rehabilitation and prevention of further myofascial pain episodes may also be offered.

Pain Clinics for relieving medication

Pain relieving medication will be prescribed to give relief and anti-depressants may also be offered as part of the treatment. These can relieve pain as well as depression, the latter often being a side effect of chronic pain issues.

Anticonvulsants and muscle relaxants are options for prescribed pain relief. Injections of local anesthetic into the trigger points will give short -term relief.

Pain Clinics that do Dry Needling and Intramuscular Stimulation

‘Dry needling’, or intramuscular stimulation, where needles are inserted into trigger points to disrupt the existing flow of pain can also release natural opoids which have an analgesic effect.

“Stretch and spray” technique involves using a spray vapocoolant on the trigger point and muscle. A pain free method, the spray numbs muscle allowing it to be stretched to allow a full range of movement before re-warming the tissues with a heating pad.

A physical therapist can create relevant stretching exercises to ease myofascial pain. They can offer passive therapy such as heat and ice packs and therapy units like TENS to reduce pain. Once the pain has been resolved, working on correct posture and performing muscle strengthening exercises to improve long term health may form part of the rehabilitation program at pain clinics.

Working together as a team, pain management professionals at pain clinics provide pain relief and control, pain management and, most importantly, future pain prevention. By using a pain clinic the individual is offered a range of relevant treatments, increasing the chances of resolving pain completely.

The technique of dry needling for myofascial pain was first introduced in 1979 by a Czech physician named Karel Lewit. It is a considered an ‘all- natural’ technique but it is not commonly done in the U.S. at this time. However, it is available in 14 U.S. states as of March 2011.

Dry needling is a type of myofascial therapy used in the treatment of the pain that is associated with any medical condition that causes myofascial pain. Dry needling for myofascial pain involves the inserted of very thin, solid filament needles deep into the muscle or myofascial trigger point.

The insertion of the needle results in the release of the myofascial trigger point. This, then, results in pain relief. There is also the re-establishment of healthy physiology of the myofascial, the muscles and the ligaments.

Acupuncture vs. Dry Needling For Myofascial Pain

Many acupuncturists have disputed that dry needle technique appears to be an acupuncture therapy that only requires minimal training. While there are a lot of resources that states that dry needling and acupuncture are two different things, there are actually some similarities.

Both therapies utilize solid filament needles inserted into different areas of the body to obtain a physical response.

The major difference is that dry needle treatment is based firmly on Western science, while dry needle acupuncture depends on an ancient Eastern foundation involving body energy meridians.

Also, dry needling practitioners insert needles directly into the myofascial trigger spots. On the other hand, acupuncturists select from a group of accepted and recognized locations on the body.

How Dry Needling for Myofascial Pain Works

Dry needling for myofacial pain is a treatment therapy intended to alleviate the pain. It involves the insertion of a solid filament needle through the skin and into muscle tissue to what is known as a trigger spot.

The goal of this treatment is to place the needle directly into or above a myofascial trigger spot. The trigger point is a hyper-irritable point in the skeletal muscle that is causing the pain and motor dysfunction.

So how is dry needling supposed to work? Dry needling therapy is known to relieve pain through the body’s mechanical and biochemical response to the twitching of the myofascial trigger point.

Issues on Dry Needling for Myofascial Pain

Practitioners usually describe dry needling technique as a procedure that involves the insertion of a needle, which is either painless or similar to a “little electrical shock. But what takes place after the procedure?

In a study printed in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, some of patients who underwent this therapy experienced some dry needling side effects, which involved post-injection pain on the myofascial trigger points. The pain was described to be drastically greater in intensity and longer duration compared to a similar group that received lidocaine injections in their myofascial trigger points.

Regardless of the severity of the pain felt after the treatment, heat or ice packs can really help. Avoiding gentle stretches and physically demanding activities are also advised for a few days.

Even though dry needling has some controversy when it comes to its effectiveness in managing myofascial pain, there are also a number of people who can attest to its effectiveness.

When it comes to dry needling for myofascial pain, always remember that whatever side you choose to believe in, the effectiveness of any treatment may vary from person to person.

There are more than 76 million Americans today suffering some type of pain, including acute and chronic myofascial pain. Finding effective pain relief in the treatment for myofascial pain has been the quest of scientists and health care practitioners for years. Fortunately, new discoveries and new techniques are helping to revolutionize the care and treatment of the pain of fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain. One of the new techniques is the unique eToims Technique.

What is the eToims Technique?

eToims® stands for Electrical Twitch-Obtaining Intramuscular Stimulation. Developed by Jennifer Chu, MD, associate professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Director of the Penn Soft Tissue Comfort Center, eToims® is automated deep tissue electrical medical acupuncture. Acupuncture is currently an accepted treatment for myofascial pain syndrome.

However, unlike acupuncture which follows along the body’s energy lines, eToims® was originally delivered by a needle electrode between and within the muscles. The needle electrode sends the electrical pulse to the meeting point of the nerve and muscle, known as the trigger points.

Today, the technique has been refined and the needle electrode is no longer need. The eToims Technique is now non-invasive and uses non-invasive surface electrical testing. eToims® is a very effective myofascial pain treatment.

How Does The eToims Technique Relieve Pain

One cause of the acute and chronic muscle pain is nerve irritation tightening the muscle. As Dr. Chu describes:

“When you irritate or damage a nerve, muscle fibers close around the nerve fibers like a fist. The electrical pulse uncurls the fist from the nerve fibers, thus relieving muscle pain and restoring function”.

The eToims technique sends very brief but strong electrical pulses to the areas of irritated nerves. This stimulation causes the muscle to twitch, or contract, and then relax. This focused exercising of the muscle at numerous points throughout the muscle relieves the associated muscle pain.

The technique acts like an internal massage and stretches the muscles, which increases the amount of oxygen to the muscle tissue. This also increases the blood flow to the muscle. Finally, the twitch-contraction produced by eToims® results in the outward flow of natural, pain-relieving chemicals.

eToims Also Diagnoses

eToims® not only treats but it also diagnoses in a non-invasive manner early nerve irritation-related pain. This includes conditions such as back pain, fibromyalgia, shoulder pain and other types of injuries and symptoms.

This diagnosing and treating is great for sports injuries. It is quick to diagnose and fast to heal getting you back out on the playing field faster than conventional treatments.

The Healing Power of eToims

The eToims technique promotes healing by re-educating the muscles and stimulating nerve re-growth and regeneration. This would apply to nerve-related muscle injuries, including those resulting in myofascial pain.

This technique is also recommended on a daily or weekly basis for those who want to maintain a pain-free living. The treatments can improve overall relaxation, physical health and well-being. It is currently being used for healing nerve-muscle pain/discomfort related to sports, work, auto-accidents, repetitive motion, activities of daily living and aging.

Where You Can Get eToims

eToims is currently available in myofascial pain treatment centers in Europe, Asia and Canada . It will be coming to the US soon. If you are seeing a physiotherapist or physician and are considering using for the eToims technique for myofascial pain or any nerve-related pain, ask him to contact the eToims® web site here.